“Yes, and as I’m so masterfully demonstrating now, I do excel at that.” He pauses again and squares his shoulders. “Alright, after much deliberation, I’ve decided to go with the casual but friendly cheek kiss. Brace yourself. I will commence leaning in shortly, giving you ample opportunity to swat me away.”
I nibble on my lip as he does indeed give me a very sweet cheek kiss, and because torturing him is so much fun, I then scream out in pain and clasp my hand to my cheek. “Oh my god, you bit me!” I yell in horror. “Why would you do that? Am I bleeding?”
Liam turns pale and looks horrified as several people stop to watch us. “What? I didn’t bite you!”
I lower my hand with a smile. “I’m just kidding. Don’t hate me.”
Liam visibly exhales and stress-wipes his hand across his forehead. “You are a wretched human being. I’m fairly confident you’ve just traumatized me for life.”
“Does that mean you don’t want to hang out, after all?”
“No, for whatever reason, I still do. I must be a glutton for punishment.”
I swear I can still see his heart pumping through his chest, and I really do start to feel guilty.
“In all seriousness, I am sorry. That was quite mean on my part. For future reference, I’m terrified of sharks. If we’re ever out deep-sea fishing and you see an opportunity for payback, I’ll understand.”
“I’m pretty sure you being savagely eaten alive by sharks isn’t a fair trade-off in this scenario.”
“You’re such a softie,” I say.
“And you really are a strange woman.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Liam shakes his head, seemingly clearing his mind. “Alright, time to take on the day. I thought we could do an afternoon of classic London sightseeing. I figured with my aunt keeping you so busy, this might be your only chance.”
Even with my teasing, he’s still so incredibly thoughtful. For some reason, it makes me a little nervous. “Are you sure? Won’t that be boring for you since you live here?”
“Not at all.BecauseI live here, I rarely go to any touristy spots. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Alright then. In that case, sightseeing sounds perfect.”
“Excellent, and since we’re agreed, I got you a gift for the occasion.”
He reaches inside his zip-up and dramatically pulls out a bright red T-shirt with the British flag and “London” stamped across the front in big bold letters.
“Stop,” I say, eagerly pulling the shirt from his hands and holding it up. “Yes! Are we going to be those people?”
Liam then unzips his jacket, revealing the matching T-shirt that he’s currently wearing. “We’re absolutely going to be those people. If we’re having a tourist day, we’re doing it full blast or not at all.”
I instantly pull the shirt on over my lightweight tan sweater. “I’m so down. How do I look?”
“Like the easily excitable, artsy American that you are.”
“I want that description inscribed on my tombstone.”
“I’ll inform your loved ones. Shall we?”
“We shall.”
An hour later, we’re inside the London Eye. Liam bought us fast-pass tickets, which he refused to let me pay for, that allowed us to skip most of the line. We’re now halfway to the top, suspended over London in a sturdy glass-and-metal compartment with a panoramic view of the city. There are only a few other people inside with us as we sit on a plastic bench in the center.
I look over at Liam innocently. “Is this a good time to tell you that I have feverish hallucinations at high altitudes?”
“At this point, nothing you could say would shock me.”
I smirk at his words and stand up, moving to lean over the metal guardrail. My forehead rests against the glass enclosure as I look down to fully take in the view. “I still can’t believe that I’m here. Last month, the most exciting thing that happened to me was that I earned a free burrito after getting twelve stamps on my membership card.”
